by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:37 AM ET, Mon November 20, 2017
Miami International Airport had to be evacuated Saturday night after a janitor found a toy grenade while cleaning one of the facility's bathrooms.
According to The Miami Herald, the airport employee discovered the grenade in an unattended bag inside a women's bathroom and immediately contacted authorities, who called in the bomb squad.
Officers from the bomb squad and K-9 units quickly arrived on the scene and evacuated passengers and airport personnel from Concourse J and surrounding terminals at around 8 p.m. local time, according to Miami-Dade police spokesman Lee Cowart.
Police discovered the grenade was a toy after a thorough investigation and gave the all-clear for passengers to return to the airport after about an hour and a half. In total, seven flights at the Florida facility were delayed by the incident.
"It is still unclear who placed the suspicious item there but it is under investigation," Cowart told the Miami Herald. "We're very happy this was a false alarm. We want people to keep saying something when they see something."
Miami-Dade police said it remains unclear how the toy grenade made it into the bathroom, but authorities have launched a formal investigation.
It has been a busy several weeks for security personnel at Miami International Airport. Earlier this month, a man traveling through the facility was caught on camera sneaking through a security checkpoint before ultimately making it onto the tarmac and getting arrested.
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